Dog Sports: Why Get Dogs a "Dog Disc?"

[Updated Aug 2019] If you've ever chatted up a competitive disc dog player/enthusiast, you may have encountered the perspective that they use specific discs made for the sporting world of "Disc Dogs."  It's all about personal preference, what works best for human/dog, but more importantly, it's about the safety of your pup. Some folks like light discs, others, heavier. The same goes for your pup!

You'll also discover that there's a bunch of interesting info you might be interested in learning about this fun sport of disc dogs.

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WHY DOG MARKETED DISCS?

So why dog-marketed discs?

First up, you might notice that dog discs are thinner around the edge.  That makes it easier for the dog to grab and hold on to.  Some regular discs (or Frisbees) can be pretty thick around the edge. Some will say it's not been a problem.  I understand that. But I'd hate to see you find out the hard way that it is or could be a problem. An expensive medical problem.

Dog discs (not counting those big red rubbery Kong ones) plastic is a touch softer than people discs. Or as dog disc manufacturers say, they're more puncture resistant than most discs. More, but some are not completely bite resistant.

Some folks use those blue-colored cloth discs but with Vader's hard chomping power, we've been warned that a cloth disc might not be best for him because there's no resistance for his hard chomping teeth, and thus, he could break his teeth.

So we graduated from cloth to plastic dog discs for fastbacks. Then after a little while, we graduated from the fastbacks to something a little more bite resistant.

Some dogs are soft biters. Not Vader... When we started using the classic fastback-type discs, Vader was going through them pretty fast.  I'd say one or two a week.  That included our efforts to start sanding down the edges.  Why sand the edges?  A little bit on that later.

After a few practice sessions, the discs had a lot of punctures and these stuck up with jagged little edges. I didn't want these tearing at my dog's mouth while it's spinning through the air! So we were sanding down the edges every day.

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SANDING THE EDGES?

Yes, I mentioned sanding the discs.

Vader's Next Disc Competition - Dixon CA

Hey all!  My next disc competition with Vader will be out at Dixon, CA, (map) at the

Cinco de Fido II - UFO (World Cup Series) Local Tournament

on Sat, May 3, 9am – 3pm

Description:

Whether your dog has never seen a disc before, you've been playing in the park for a while, or you're a seasoned disc dog veteran, we invite you out for a day filled with family-friendly fun and flying, flipping, disc-catching-crazy dogs!

We encourage any and all skill levels to enter the fun. There are three divisions to choose from: Novice, Intermediate and Open and prizes for first through third place in each. There will also be a long distance competition with men’s and women’s divisions (along with their dogs, of course!)

Come on out to Hall Park in Dixon and join the fun!

Entry fees: Novice $5;  Intermediate $7;  and Open $10. See the UFO website (http://www.ufoworldcup.org) for more information. Registration begins at 9:00AM and the fun begins at 10!

More Dock Diving Fun from Hollister (4-27-14)

Some friends met us out at Doggone Dirty Dock Diving facility out in Hollister and we had more fun.  Plus, with a new camera, we found ourselves getting much better moments of our buddies and their humans!
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Flickr Album Vader Dock Diving

My latest Dock Diving Adventures

My latest dock diving adventure took place out in Hollister, CA, at the Doggone Dirty Dock Diving facility.

My buddies and I had a blast!

If you're any where near the facility and want to spend some time seeing if your pup is dock dive ready, rent an hour or so.  The facility owner, Rhonna, is awesome and spends quality time coaching and teaching... which ever part of the team, human or canine, that needs the finer skills that help have fun in this sport.

Proof of total fun being had by all:

Oh yea, oh yea, toss it, toss it!!! 

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Check out the website for the Dock Diving facility.

And here's my set of pics from my Dock Diving Practice, on Flickr.

Vader Hits Up Fort Funston Beach Again...

Well, we hit up the beach at Fort Funston over the weekend.  We can't find any real updates regarding the status of the beach, as far as dogs still being allowed, but for now, they're still allowed here, on Crissy Field and other dog-friendly locations around San Francisco.

So now what?

I played with other dogs...

I played with some smaller humans...